Browsing: Governance & Unity News

Source: Orthodox Christian Laity July 21, 2014 The Most Reverend JOSEPH Metropolitan of New York and North America Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America P.O. Box 5238 Englewood, NJ 07631-5238 Your Eminence, Metropolitan JOSEPH, “Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” The Members and Board of Directors of Orthodox Christian Laity congratulate you on your election as Metropolitan of New York and North America of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. We ask your blessing. The Holy Synod of Bishops of the ancient Patriarchate of Antioch, and the faithful…

Questions for consideration by the Assembly of Bishops as they continue to work for Canonical Order in the USA submitted by George Karcazes, Executive Committee Member of Orthodox Christian Laity Article 28 of the Chambesy documents  of the Meeting of the Patriarch in 2008  challenges Assemblies  of Bishops to meet and develop blueprints “to bring the Church in their respective territories into Canonical Order.”  What does this mean in the context of America, where we have overlapping “jurisdictions” based on Old World ethnic ties and multiple bishops in the same “cities” or territories?  Chambesy said: “Come up with a plan..…

Source: The National Herald To the Editor: The article about felony theft charges against the Priest who served in my Parish over the past two years raises questions about ethics taught to seminarians in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. The interview given to TNH by Bishop Demetrios of Mokissos, Chancellor of the Metropolis of Chicago, provides a window into his personal ethical compass. While his responses are disappointing to the point of being embarrassing, his defense that “everybody else is doing it” begs the question: “How common are his views among the Clergy and his fellow Bishops?” Are his…

by Steven P. Stamatis  Repeated calls from Orthodox Christian Laity (OCL) for Orthodox Unity often results in gatherings to discuss Unity and the need for a Great and Holy Church Council. The participating hierarchy who usually attend include the Serbian Orthodox, Romanian Orthodox, Antiochian Orthodox, Russian Orthodox and other dignitaries from the Orthodox landscape. Conspicuously absent almost every time are the Greeks. The Greek Orthodox hierarchy continues to abstain from these “unauthorized,” laity-driven pan-Orthodox discussions and remains silent in the sidelines. Claims of “Royal Priesthood” status notwithstanding, these Metropolitans do not recognize the laity’s  authority to convene such discussions. Furthermore, they,…

Source: Orthodox Christian Laity The theme of the 42nd Clergy Laity Congress, “The Orthodox Christian Family: A Dwelling of Christ and A Witness of His Gospel,” is very appropriate for us in this time of transition.   For it is truly within the home that the Orthodox faith will be learned, survive and grow by the example and actions of each of us.  However, for many, parish life and archdiocesan settings are an antithesis to the theme of the 42nd Congress.  HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE On September 18, 1999, His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios was enthroned as the sixth Archbishop of the Greek Orthodox…

Source: Orthodox Christian Network By Andrew Estocin in The Sounding In all of God’s earthly creation, only the human person has the ability to ask questions and seek answers. Asking questions reflects the fact that men and women are created in the image and likeness of God. Asking questions is also part of the gift of reason and therefore needs to be cultivated with virtue and compassion. In America’s highly charged political climate, every question asked is considered suspect for its motives. However, questions in the Orthodox Christian Tradition are not viewed with suspicion but are instead welcomed with open arms. Orthodoxy does not…

Source: FOCUS North America Mission Vision and Values Who We Are FOCUS North America is a national movement of Orthodox Christians, united in faith and joined by a desire to provide action-oriented and sustainable solutions to poverty in communities across America. FOCUS has operations and youth volunteer experiences in more than 20 cities in the United States. Mission Statement As an expression of Christ’s love FOCUS North America serves the hungry, thirsty, stranger, naked, sick and imprisoned by providing Food, Occupation, Clothing, Understanding, and Shelter. Why We’re Here Through the provision of social and human development services, FOCUS North America…

Source: Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States of America has released an interview with Metropolitan John of Pergamon. Metropolitan John was the Chairman of the Fourth Pre-Conciliar Pan-Orthodox Conference at Chambésy in 2009 and one of the signers of the Chambésy Decision. The conference in Chambésy led to the creation of 13 Orthodox Episcopal Assemblies around the world, including the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States. The interviewed can be viewed here. The Assembly hopes that this interview with Metropolitan John will help clarify the…

Source: Orthodox Church in America KYIV, UKRAINE [OCA] With the blessing of His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon, the Orthodox Church in America was represented at the Enthronement of His Beatitude, Metropolitan Onufry of Kyiv and All Ukraine by His Grace, Bishop Michael and His Grace, Bishop Irénée on Sunday, August 17, 2014. Metropolitan Onufry was elected to the See of Kyiv and All Ukraine at a special session of the Bishops’ Council convened at the Lavra of the Kyiv Caves on August 13. He succeeds His Beatitude, Metropolitan Volodymyr, who fell asleep in the Lord at the age of 78 on July…

Source: The National Herald BY GEORGE E. MATSOUKAS The theme of the 42nd Clergy Laity Congress “The Orthodox Christian Family: A Dwelling of Christ and A Witness of His Gospel,” is very appropriate for us in this time of transition. For it is truly within the home that the Orthodox faith will be learned, and will survive and grow by the example and actions of each of us. However, for many, parish life and archdiocesan settings are an antithesis to the theme of the 42ndCongress. HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE On September 18, 1999 His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios was enthroned as the sixth Archbishop…

Editor’s Note: First Open Forum of Clergy and Laity at the Assembly of Bishops September 15, 2014 is the first meeting of Bishops, Clergy and Laity in an Open Forum related to developing a blueprint for a unified Orthodox Church in the USA.  The “Clergy-Laity gathering” will take place following a doxology at Holy Trinity Church, Dallas,Texas.   The bishops will welcome questions and answers from those gathered to exchange ideas.  The Very Reverend Archimandrite Dr. Nathanael Symeonides, Director of Inter-Orthodox, Ecumenical & Interfaith Relations for the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of  America, will moderate the Forum.  His email is: frnathanael@goarch.org. Father Christopher Constantinides is the…

By C. A. Constantopoulos, Ph.D. “Would an event ‒ let’s say a baseball game ‒ played in a 50,000-seat stadium, attended by 30,000 ticket holders, be a ‘successful’ one?” “That would depend on how the game ends.” “What if, in the bottom of the second inning, the electronic billboard is flashing, ‘Success’?” “The franchise-owned concessionaire is trying to get people to drink more beer.” “What’s wrong with drinking more beer?” “It has nothing to do with what’s flashing when the game is over.” How true it is: With their Archbishop having humorously professed his predilection for numbers and statistics, Orthodox…